the_new_era_harrypotterfandomcom-20200214-history
Second Wizarding War
THE INFORMATION CONTAINED ON THIS PAGE IS DIRECTLY SOURCED FROM THE OFFICIAL WIKI! It is not everything off the wiki but it is what would be considered “common knowledge” to the Wizarding World. The''' Second Wizarding War''' refers to the conflicts stemming from the Dark Wizard Lord Voldemort's second rise to power after his return in 1995. Voldemort and his followers, the Death Eaters, waged a violent campaign across both the wizarding and Muggle communities, seeking to topple the Ministry of Magic and subjugate Muggle-borns, with the eventual goal of conquering the entire wizarding world, and the Muggle world along with it. Harry Potter, prophesied as the "Chosen One" capable of bringing an end to Voldemort's power, took an active role in this war, alongside his peers in Dumbledore's Army and the members of the Order of the Phoenix. The Second War technically began on 24 June, 1995, though was not officially announced by the Ministry until nearly a year later on 17 June, 1996, and ended on 2 May, 1998, at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, after the death of the Dark Lord. Lead Up to the War Nearly 11 years after his defeat in the First Wizarding War Lord Voldemort waited for his followers to find him, but he was instead located by Quirinus Quirrell, who sneaked him into Hogwarts so they could steal the Philosopher's Stone. However, Harry Potter, who was in his first year, thwarted them both, killing Quirrell and forcing Voldemort back into hiding. In 1992 he was once again was foiled by Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger, along with Dumbledore's phoenix, Fawkes. Harry slayed the massive 60 foot serpent hidden within the fabled Chamber of Secrets with Gryffindor's Sword that he acquired from the Sorting Hat. Thus resulting in another failed attempt of Voldemort's return. In 1994, Ron's pet grey rat, Scabbers, was revealed as Peter Pettigrew. Although thought to be dead (he was believed to be murdered by Sirius Black), he turned out to have been in hiding, due to the fact he was now a Death Eater and an accomplice. He had been hiding in his Animagus form of a grey rat since shortly after betraying the Lily and James Potter to their deaths on 31 October, 1981. He spent 12 years with the Weasley family, as their pet. Pettigrew's disguise was revealed by Sirius Black, who had escaped from Azkaban, and Remus Lupin. Though not from lack of trying, Harry Potter failed to successfully turn Peter Pettigrew over to the Ministry of Magic, and Pettigrew escaped to return to service to Voldemort. Voldemort soon learned one of his loyal Death Eaters was alive and had escaped Azkaban. Voldemort went in search of this servant and found him being kept prisoner in his father's house. After a group of Death Eaters wreaked havoc at the 1994 Quidditch World Cup, Barty Crouch Jr scared them off by launching the Dark Mark into the sky. Returning to his master, Crouch Jr. and Voldemort began planning their next moves to defeat Harry Potter. Using Polyjuice Potion, Crouch disguised himself as Alastor Moody, who would be returning to Hogwarts to teach Defence Against the Dark Arts. Using his position of authority, Crouch entered Harry Potter into the Triwizard Tournament, under the name of a false fourth school. During the final task, Crouch turned the Triwizard Cup into a Portkey, which then transported Harry to the Little Hangleton graveyard. Using Harry's blood, Voldemort was able to regain physical form and overcome the protective spell from Harry's mother. After a duel between the two, Harry managed to escape and report Voldemort's return to Albus Dumbledore. The Start of the War In the beginning, there were casualties which went unnoticed by most. Bertha Jorkins, a Ministry of Magic official at the Department of International Magical Cooperation. Frank Bryce, Muggle caretaker of the Riddle family mansion, was murdered by Voldemort with the Killing Curse on 20 August, 1994, after overhearing Voldemort's plans to murder Harry Potter. Barty Crouch Snr, head of the Department of Magical Cooperation at the Ministry, was murdered in May of 1995. Crouch Jr. had been previously incarcerated in Azkaban for the crime of taking part in the capture and, by means of the Cruciatus Curse, torture of the aforementioned Longbottoms. Later, his father smuggled him out of prison to fulfil the dying wish of Mrs Crouch. When Harry Potter escaped from Lord Voldemort, Crouch Jr. identity as Alastor Moody was compromised and his soul was destroyed by the Dementor's Kiss. On the same night, Cedric Diggory was murdered by Peter Pettigrew, who used the Killing Curse on Voldemort's orders, with Voldemort's yew wand. Through a spell and potion, Voldemort regained his physical form, though under developed, and attempted to duel Harry Potter. He failed, allowing Harry to escape using the Triwizard Cup as a portkey back to Hogwarts. The Ministry’s Denial Shortly after Harry emerged from the maze claiming Voldemort had returned, Cornelius Fudge, the Minister for Magic, refused to believe it, as it might compromise his position as Minister. Instead of working with Dumbledore to prepare the wizarding world for battle and try to stop the Death Eaters, Cornelius Fudge launched a campaign to slander and discredit both Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore, as Fudge was paranoid that Dumbledore was after his job. Fudge used his influence at the Daily Prophet to convince the wizarding public that Dumbledore and Harry were crazy, attention-seeking liars and that everything was going well in the world. The Ministry appointed Dolores Umbridge to Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts, and soon she became Hogwarts High Inquisitor, giving her enormous power over the students and the teachers and enforcing the Ministry's agenda at Hogwarts. Harry was alienated by students and friends. However, Harry combatted this by forming a secret organisation with his friends called Dumbledore's Army to prepare themselves for the war that would soon follow. As Dumbledore's Army trained, disappearances continued to occur as Voldemort gained power, while the Ministry turned a blind eye to it. The Dementors guarding Azkaban started to move their authority to Voldemort and a large break-out occurred, including the release of notoriously sadistic Death Eater Bellatrix Lestrange. Dumbledore was forced to flee the school when Dumbledore's Army was discovered and he took the blame for it, and Umbridge was appointed Headmistress of Hogwarts, though she did not get much help from the other teachers stopping the chaos that the students caused to disrupt her tyrannical regime. The Death Eaters took full advantage of the Ministry's denial and kept a low profile, rebuilding their forces quietly and secretly. They managed to recruit both Dementors and Giants because the Ministry refused to take the suggested actions, and successfully engineered the Azkaban breakout because of this. Consistent with the denial, Fudge suggested the breakout and disappearances were the work of Sirius Black, much to the contrary. The only resistance the Death Eaters met with, at the time, was the Order of the Phoenix, which was suppressed by the Ministry's propaganda and threat of dismissal, thus furthering Voldemort's freedom of action. Falsely-reformed Death Eaters such as Lucius Malfoy and Walden Macnair remained in the Ministry's trust, subtly sabotaging the government's efficiency and gathering information on them. While Harry and several Order members suggested that Fudge was under the Imperius Curse, Dumbledore believed otherwise, which was not a lot of comfort. Despite the Ministry's propaganda and corrupt political procedures suppressing the truth, which affected many citizens' opinions, there are many who chose to believe Dumbledore and Harry instead, such as the Longbottom family and Ernest Macmillan. When Harry provided an interview of the truth via The Quibbler, it riled many more people to support him. Battle of the Department of Mysteries After the Death Eaters made two unsuccessful attempts to steal a prophecy from the Department of Mysteries, it was realised that only those about whom the prophecy referred could remove them from the shelves in the Hall of Prophecy. Thus, in June 1996, Lord Voldemort lured Harry Potter to the department. After Harry and Hermione led Umbridge into the Forbidden Forest where she was carried away by centaurs after insulting them, Harry and fellow Dumbledore's Army members: Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood, and Ginny Weasley flew on Thestrals to the Department of Mysteries within the Ministry of Magic building. After obtaining the "Dark Lord's prophecy," they were confronted by Death Eaters Bellatrix Lestrange, Rodolphus Lestrange, Rabastan Lestrange, Crabbe, Nott, Avery, Jr, Augustus Rookwood, Walden Macnair, Jugson, Antonin Dolohov, Mulciber, and Lucius Malfoy. The D.A. students quickly distracted the Death Eaters, scattering throughout the Department of Mysteries, and frequently encountering and duelling with the dark wizards. Many of these students ended up with serious injuries during these duels, but there were no fatalities until five members from the Order of the Phoenix — Sirius Black, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Nymphadora Tonks, Remus Lupin, and Alastor Moody — arrived. They battled the Death Eaters before Bellatrix Lestrange suddenly blasted Sirius Black with her wand, causing him to fall and disappear through a mysterious veil, killing him instantly. Soon afterwards, Albus Dumbledore appeared and captured all the Death Eaters except Bellatrix, who ran out of the chamber chased by Harry Potter, and for the first time in his life Harry. The two proceeded to exchange spells in the Atrium. Dumbledore then came across Lord Voldemort himself. The two engaged in a duel of epic proportions which left the Fountain of Magical Brethren in ruins. Realising he could not beat Dumbledore. When an army of Aurors arrived, Voldemort hastily fled, thus ending the battle and causing Fudge to finally believe Dumbledore and Harry's claims about the Dark Lord's return. Open Warfare Upon their reactivation being no longer secret, the Death Eaters resumed their modus operandi: terrorism, abduction and mass murder. There were numerous casualties of the war in 1996. When Minister Cornelius Fudge refused to surrender the Ministry, Voldemort destroyed the Brockdale Bridge drowning many Muggles. Florean Fortescue and Garrick Ollivander both went missing and Ollivanders was emptied, but there was no sign of struggle. Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour showed evidence of a struggle or fight, but no sign of him was ever found. A man named Octavius Pepper disappeared in the early spring. Igor Karkaroff was found dead in a shack with a Dark Mark cast over the building a year after he deserted Voldemort. Order of the Phoenix member Emmeline Vance and Head of Magical Law Enforcement Amelia Bones were murdered. These events allowed Head of the Auror Office Rufus Scrimgeour to replace Fudge as the new Minister for Magic. During this time, Voldemort also gathered the strengths of the Giants, Dementors, and Werewolves to his cause. Because of the Ministry's denial, Voldemort was able to rebuild his forces unhindered, which led the Ministry to fall far too back behind by the time they finally accepted the truth. Voldemort also set a plan in motion to assassinate Albus Dumbledore, the leader of the resistance against him, striking a crippling blow against the wizarding world's morale as well as removing Harry Potter's strongest defender and mentor. Unfortunately for the Ministry, even with the consequences of Fudge's denial as an example, it did little to change their preference of reputation over true security; Fudge attempted to request Harry to lie to the public how the Ministry was doing a great job in their defence against the Death Eaters, which would have led to more false sense of safety that would endanger them. Although Harry refused, Minister Scrimgeour attempted to do the same and also created many cover ups such as Azkaban breakouts and arresting random suspects to make it look like progress. The pamphlet distributed by the Ministry was not so helpful in regards to basic defensive strategies against the Death Eaters. This campaign of corruption and false security would cause the Ministry's defence to drop further, as Death Eaters were able to place Imperius Curses onto high-ranking officials, who in turn would take control of others, leading to a network of powerful conspirators, and eventually, the Ministry would pay for its folly in 1997. Battle of the Astronomy Tower At the close of the Hogwarts school year in June 1997, Albus Dumbledore was slain by Severus Snape's Killing Curse in the Hogwarts Astronomy Tower. After convincing Draco Malfoy to forgo his plans to murder him, Severus Snape and four other Death Eaters came to the scene. Snape took over the task of killing Dumbledore. Among the Death Eaters present were siblings Alecto and Amycus Carrow, Corban Yaxley, Thorfinn Rowle and Gibbon, along with werewolf Fenrir Greyback. On the side of Hogwarts were siblings Ginny, Ron, and Bill Weasley, Hermione Granger, Luna Lovegood, Neville Longbottom, Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks, Minerva McGonagall, and Harry Potter. Bill Weasley was attacked by werewolf Fenrir Greyback and received scars on his face, but sustained only minimal lycanthropic symptoms. On the Death Eaters' side, the only death was Gibbon. The Death Eaters were forced to retreat once their task was accomplished. They were pursued by Harry, who duelled with Snape but was unable to prevent the Death Eaters' escape. With the fall of Dumbledore, the only wizard Voldemort ever feared, he could turn his attention to toppling the Ministry and finally murdering Harry Potter. Battle of the Seven Potters Also known as the Battle over Little Whinging, this battle occurred when the Order of the Phoenix was ambushed while attempting to remove Harry Potter from the Dursley home at 4 Privet Drive just before Harry's seventeenth birthday. The battle included Hermione Granger, Fleur Delacour, Ron, Fred and George Weasley, and Mundungus Fletcher, who all took Polyjuice Potion. Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody, Bill and Arthur Weasley, Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks, Kingsley Shacklebolt, and Rubeus Hagrid acted as escorts to various "Potters" to confuse any Death Eaters who might try to prevent them from reaching their destination. Immediately after takeoff, they were ambushed by at least thirty Death Eaters, including Severus Snape, Bellatrix Lestrange, and Lord Voldemort. Fletcher disapparated as soon as he sensed danger, and Moody was slain by the Killing Curse. All others safely arrived at the Burrow, with only George Weasley sustaining a great injury with his ear which was caused by Severus Snape's Sectumsempra curse. Fall of the Ministry of Magic On 1 August, 1997, the Ministry of Magic fell under the control of Lord Voldemort. The coup was described as "swift and quiet," but as Minister for Magic Rufus Scrimgeour was murdered, this is disputable. Before Scrimgeour died, he was interrogated under use of the Cruciatus Curse about Harry's whereabouts; despite his knowledge, Scrimgeour's last act was to protect Harry from Voldemort. Many of the Ministry's top officials were under the influence of the Imperius Curse when this battle took place, including Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement Pius Thicknesse, who became Voldemort's puppet Minister after the take-over. Voldemort himself did not declare open leadership, instead choosing to use secrecy and confusion to maintain the public's distrust for each other, thus preventing rebellion. Whether Death Eaters actually entered the Ministry and fought in person is not known. Regardless, some Death Eaters, such as Yaxley, Travers, and Selwyn became employees in the new regime. They also quickly placed the Taboo curse on Voldemort's name as a way of spreading fear and locating enemies. The Order was informed of the coup by Kingsley Shacklebolt's Patronus, which arrived at The Burrow during the reception for Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour's wedding. Death Eaters arrived as Hermione apparated herself, Harry and Ron away. There, after unwittingly breaking the Taboo on Voldemort's name, they were ambushed by Antonin Dolohov and Thorfinn Rowle. Death Eaters interrogated those at the Burrow as well as other locations affiliated with the Order. Dedalus Diggle's house was burned down, though he was not there at the time, and Ted and Andromeda Tonks were tortured for information. The Death Eater regime soon established the Muggle-Born Registration Commission to round up and imprison Muggle-borns on charges of "stealing" magic. The new regime also asserted control over Hogwarts, attendance at which became mandatory, and installed Severus Snape as Headmaster. Despite the seemingly absurdity of these new policies, Voldemort's effectiveness in spreading confusion to maintain control made the citizens to accept the changes. On 2 September, 1997, Harry, Ron, and Hermione infiltrated the Death Eater-controlled Ministry under the disguise of Polyjuice Potion. They disguised themselves as Albert Runcorn, Reginald Cattermole, and Mafalda Hopkirk, respectively. They assisted several Muggle-born wizards in escaping interrogation. There were no known deaths or permanent injuries. Skirmish at Malfoy Manor The small but bloody skirmish of Malfoy Manor occurred after Fenrir Greyback captured Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Griphook, and Dean Thomas after Harry broke the Taboo on Voldemort's name. Greyback and five Snatchers descended on their location around Easter of 1998 when Harry accidentally broke the Taboo. Opting to take Harry directly to Voldemort for the large reward, they apparated to his headquarters at Malfoy Manor. Though Voldemort was elsewhere, the Malfoy family, Bellatrix Lestrange, and Peter Pettigrew were present. Bellatrix stunned the Snatchers for their "lack of respect" towards her and ordered Draco Malfoy to take all the hostages to the basement. Once in the basement Harry and Ron met with Luna Lovegood and Garrick Ollivander. Bellatrix kept Hermione upstairs and brutally tortured her with the Cruciatus Curse for information on how they were able to get Godric Gryffindor's Sword and at one point threatened to run her through with a dagger. In spite of her great suffering, Hermione was able to concoct a bogus story, claiming the sword was a fake. Harry overhearing Hermione say the sword was a fake convinced Griphook to back up her claim. Dobby the house-elf was sent to Harry's aid from Aberforth Dumbledore. Harry requested that he evacuate Dean, Ollivander, and Luna using the elf's special brand of apparition magic. Dean and Luna were both reluctant to leave Harry and protested. The noise was overheard in the house above, and Peter Pettigrew was sent to investigate. He was ambushed in the basement when Harry and Ron took his wand and briefly battled him hand-to-hand. However, when Harry reminded Pettigrew that he had saved his life, Pettigrew hesitated to murder Harry and, despite of Harry's and Ron's efforts to stop it, Pettigrew's Voldemort-made silver hand turned against him and strangled him to death for the tiny, merciful impulse that he felt. The two boys then stormed the room where Bellatrix was holding Hermione. When Dobby reappeared, the group — Harry, Ron, Hermione, Griphook, and Dobby — disapparated to the cottage of Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour. It was only then that they discovered Bellatrix had thrown a blade and stabbed Dobby, who died soon afterwards. Dobby was buried in the garden of Shell Cottage with the epitaph of "Here lies Dobby, A Free Elf." Gringotts Break-in While staying at Shell Cottage, Harry, Ron, and Hermione planned to break into Gringotts Wizarding Bank in order to steal an item from the Lestrange vault. Using hair that had fallen onto Hermione's sweater when Bellatrix was holding her at Malfoy Manor, the trio brewed Polyjuice Potion so that Hermione could disguise herself as the Death Eater. She then transfigured various aspects of Ron's appearance and he took on the alias of "Dragomir Despard", a foreign wizard. Harry and Griphook followed under the Invisibility Cloak. With Griphook's help, and Harry using Confundus Charms on Death Eater Travers and various bank employees, the trio got into the Lestrange vault. Griphook took Godric Gryffindor's Sword from Harry and deserted them. Harry, Hermione and Ron escaped by flying the half-blind dragon that had been guarding the vault out of the bank. Battle of Hogwarts Lord Voldemort ordered a massive attack on Hogwarts Castle. Harry, Ron, and Hermione went into the Room of Requirement, followed close behind by Vincent Crabbe, Draco Malfoy, and Gregory Goyle. Crabbe set off Fiendfyre, burning everything until Harry, Ron, and Hermione rescued Draco and Goyle and flew from the Room on broomsticks. Crabbe was unable to escape and perished. Hogwarts fortified itself for the attack. Voldemort demanded that Hogwarts hand over Harry Potter but, despite his threats, they remained in support of Harry and refused. Eventually, Harry surrendered himself to Voldemort in the Forbidden Forest, convinced that his death would destroy Voldemort as well. Voldemort's use of the Killing Curse on Harry unbeknownst to the Dark wizard, it did not kill Harry Potter. To maintain his safety, Potter feigned his death. Ordered by Voldemort to confirm Harry's demise, Narcissa Malfoy discovered that Potter was in fact alive, but kept it secret in exchange for information from Harry concerning the welfare of her child Draco. Rubeus Hagrid was forced to carry Harry back to the Castle, where the Hogwarts community believed he had been murdered and Voldemort claimed that he had been caught trying to escape and save himself. Morale renewed by Longbottom's bravery, the final battle included the house-elves, the residents of Hogsmeade; the friends and families of every remaining student, a few returning Slytherins, a flock of Thestrals, a herd of centaurs, and the outlaw Hippogriff Buckbeak. Death Eaters were either cut down or forced to surrender. In the Great Hall of Hogwarts, the crowd congregated around Voldemort battling Kingsley Shacklebolt, Minerva McGonagall and Horace Slughorn all at once, and "his last, best lieutenant," Bellatrix Lestrange, fighting Hermione Granger, Ginny Weasley, and Luna Lovegood. After Bellatrix nearly murdered Ginny, Molly Weasley stepped in, killing the Death Eater. Voldemort blasted his three opponents away from him and turned on Molly, but Harry Potter revealed himself at that moment. The crowd watched as the two great enemies, Voldemort and Harry Potter, bantered and circled each other. Harry dared Voldemort to feel remorse, to which Voldemort responded by shooting a Killing Curse from his wand. Harry simultaneously cast his own signature spell, the Disarming Charm, using Draco Malfoy's wand. However, he Killing Curse rebounded and ended Voldemort's life once and for all, restoring peace to the wizarding world. The Second Wizarding War was over with a decisive victory for the Order of the Phoenix and Dumbledore's Army. Few members of the Order survived, but most the Death Eaters and allies were either killed or imprisoned after the war. The Aftermath After the defeat of Voldemort, twenty or more Death Eaters were killed. The rest were imprisoned, with the exception of the Malfoys. Approximately fifty-five defenders of Hogwarts were killed in the final battle. Kingsley Shacklebolt was named interim Minister for Magic, and later took the position on permanently. Minerva McGonagall became headmistress of Hogwarts. Celebrations were held in the Great Hall of Hogwarts. In the years following the Second Wizarding War, Minister of Magic Kingsley Shacklebolt lead a massive reform of the Ministry of Magic in order to put an end to prejudice based on blood status and to better combat Dark Wizards in the future. In addition to the reforms, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley revolutionised the Auror Office and Hermione Granger helped advance the rights of magical creatures and eradicated the old pro-pureblood laws from high up in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Ron Weasley later went on to join his brother George at Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes, which became an enormous money-spinner.